Insole rib attaching machines



Aug. 11, 1959 Filed Aug. 9, 1957 S. P. LOTARSKI ET AL INSOLE RIB ATTA CHING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet l Inventors Szep/z en P Lozans/a' 1959 s. P. LOTARSKI ETAL 2,898,614

INSOLE RIB ATTACHING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 9. 1957 fnven tom" Z00 Stephen P iota/"ski Francis Jpezlginf g- 1959 s. P. LOTARSKI ETAL 2,898,614

INSOLE RIB ATTACHING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 9, 1957 In ven tors Jzephen P Lofarski Francis R Speiyhz 1959 s. P. LOTARSKI ETAL 2,898,614

INSOLE RIB ATTACHING MACHINES Filed Aug. 9, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 [rm/en tors Step/1 en P Lotanski A g 1, 1959 s. P. LOTARSKI ETAL 2,398,614 m INSOLE RIB ATTACHING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 9', 1957 [Tu/en zors Siep/zen P lozans'kz' Francis R Spez'y/zz United States Patent INSOLE RIB ATTACHING MACHINES Stephen P. Lotarski, Beverly, and Francis R. Speight, Dedham, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 9, 1957, Serial No. 677,331

Claims. (Cl. 12-40) This invention relates to machines for use in making insoles for welt shoes, and more particularly to a machine for attaching ribbed strips to insoles to form sewing ribs thereon.

The very substantial savings made possible by the use of insoles with attached sewing ribs in the manufacture of welt shoes has resulted in a steady growth in the volume of shoes made with such insoles. For attaching prefabricated ribs to insoles various machines have been developed, one example of such machines being that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,573,- 683, granted November 6, 1951, upon an application filed in the name of Frederic E. Bertrand.

The machine of the patent just referred to is provided with a rotatable, flat-topped, circular table for supporting an insole, and a guide through which a ribbed strip to be applied to the insole is passed, the strip guide carrying a pair of fingers for feeding the strip into engagementwith the insole and also a feed foot for advancing the insole and the attached rib. The machine is also provided with a presser foot engaging the outer flange of the strip and pressing it against the insole, and a tucking foot engaging the inner flange of the strip and cooperating with the presser foot to apply pressure in the angle between the inner flange and the rib. The strip guide is mounted on a lever to which a four-motion movement in a rectangular path is imparted by driving mechanism under the control of a clutch engaged by the depression of a treadle.

II he machine of the above-mentioned patent is further provided with mechanism which controls the movement of the strip guide and the feed foot which forms part of it in a manner such that the strip is fed at a faster rate than the insole in order to avoid distortion or strapping of the insole resulting from application of the strip under substantial tension.

For severing the strip after its attachment to an insole the machine is also provided with a knife which is operated by a clutch mechanism actuated by an operatorcontrolled knee lever.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine of the type above referred to, which is considerably simpler in its organization and hence may be manufactured at substantially lower cost, yet which will operate to attach ribbed strips to insoles rapidly and in an eflicient manner.

With this object in view and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the guide through which the rib strip is passed is in the present machine made stationary and a single member, connected to the lever which in the prior machine imparted a four-motion feed movement to the strip guide, is now utilized to press both flanges of the strip against the insole and to feed the insole and strip intermittently as the operation progresses around the periphery of the insole. In the illustrated construction the presser and feed member is provided with a vertically extending notch in its strip-engaging surface to permit the member to straddle the rib portion of the lice strip, and is operated by the previously mentioned lever first to move vertically downward to engage the flanges extending in opposite directions from the base of the rib and to press them against the insole margin, then to move horizontally forward to feed the insole and rib, followed by an upward and rearward movement to return to its initial starting opsition in readiness to repeat a pressing and feeding operation on a succeeding portion of the strip and insole. It will be appreciated that this arrangement, whereby a single member performs the functions of feeding the strip into engagement with the insole, pressing it against the insole, and feeding the combined insole and strip, results in a substantial reduction in the number of operating elements, with corresponding reduction in the cost of manufacture.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the illustrated machine is provided with a novel worksupporting table, with which is associated a member arranged to assist in the feed of the work, the table being so constructed that the insole is caused to be bent downwardly out of its plane during the attachment of successive portions of a strip, thereby avoiding the distortion or strapping which results from the tendency of the insole to bend upwardly under the stress exerted upon it by the attached rib. As herein illustrated, the table, which is located directly under the strip guide, is formed with a transverse opening for the reception of a freely rotatable roll which projects above the top of the table to engage the undersurface of the insole. Rearward of the roll the insole-supporting surface of the table has a portion which slopes downwardly at a slight angle and and another portion whichslopes at a somewhat more pronounced angle. As the presser and feed member is moved downwardly, it engages the strip and presses it against the margin of the insole supported by the roll. During the pressing of the strip against the insole the table, which is supported by a spring, yields downwardly. The presser and feed member is then moved horizontally to feed the work, in which it is assisted by ther 011. Thereafter, as the presser and feed member is moved upwardly and rearwardly, the table rises to bring the insole with the attached strip against a holddown member located rearward of the presser and feed member and acting to maintain the insole against the slightly sloping portion of the table. The insole is thus bent slightly out of its plane in a downward direction, thereby avoiding the strapping of the insole which would normally result if the insole were maintained in flat condition. For imparting a more pronounced curvature to the insole so as to enable it to adapt itself to a last bottom of more pronounced curvature, an auxiliary holddown is provided, this holddownbeing located rearward of the main holddown and adapted to engage the top of the rib portion of the strip and guide the insole over the more sharply sloping portion of the table so as to bend it in a downward direction out of its normal plane. The auxiliary holddown is arranged to be moved out of operative position when it is desired to impart only a slight curvature to the insole. Due to this arrangement, the mechanism hereinabove referred to for feeding the strip at a faster rate than the nisole is rendered unnecessary, and its elimination results in further substantial simplification of the block mounted on a rod which constitutes one element of a knee lever. In accordance with another feature of the invention, means is provided for preventing operation of the knife during the operation of the presser and feed member. In the illustrated construction, a rod connected to the treadle which actuates the clutch to operate the presser and feed member carries a block which, when the treadle is depressed to engage the clutch, is in the path of the microswitch operating rod so that the microswitch cannot be operated until the treadle is released and the rod connected thereto raised to a position in which the block thereon is out of the path of the microswitch operating rod.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be explained more fully in the following description and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on a larger scale showing the table for supporting an insole, the strip guide and the presser and feed member;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation and on a still larger scale of the mechanism shown in the upper portion of Fig. 2, while the machine is operative;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section of a strip which the machine is particularly adapted to attach to insoles;

Fig. 6 is'a plan view showing an insole to which a ribbed strip has been attached in the present machine;

Fig. 7 is a schematic view, on a greatly enlarged scale and partly in section, illustrating the relation which exists between the work-supporting table, the holddowns, and the presser and feed member While the latter is pressing a strip against an insole;

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the relation between the same parts while the presser and feed member is feeding the work; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective schematic view of the driving mechanism for operating the presser and feed member.

The machine is particularly adapted to attach to an insole I (Figs. 5 and 6) a prefabricated ribbed strip S of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,774,699, granted December 18, 1956 upon an ap plication filed in the name of Alfred S. Clark, the strip having a rib portion R and outer and inner flanges F and F.

The machine has a base 10 (Fig. 2) to the top of which is bolted a head 12 on which are mounted the operating instrumentalities ofthe machine. The strip to be attached to an insole is drawn from a reel (not shown) and is guided over a first upper guide roll 14 mounted on a stud v16 fixed in the machine head, then under a second lower guide roll 18 similarly mounted on the machine head, and thence through a guide generally indicated by the reference numeral 20 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) and secured to a bracket 22 bolted to the machine head.

The insole is supported on a table 24 having a depending shank 26 (Fig. 2) which is secured by a screw 28 in a groove 30 provided in a slide 32 mounted for vertical movement in a support 34 fixed to the frame of .3 and 4) the table comprises a portion 44 sloping downwardly in the direction of work feed at an angle of approximately 4, and a portion 45 sloping in the same direction at an angle of approximately 8. The roll 38 projects above the top of the table to permit it to engage the undersurface of the insole. A compression spring 46 (Figs. 1 and 2) is mounted in the base of the support 34, the upper end of the spring bearing against a lug 48 projecting from the lower end of the slide 32. The initial force of the spring 46 may be adjusted by means of a screw 50 threaded through a plate 52 secured to the lower end of the support 34. For lowering the table to permit the placing of an insole thereon, the table supporting slide 32 is connected by a pin 54 to the upper end of a link 56, the lower end of which has a pin-and=slot connection to a lever 58 pivoted at one end on the support 34 and connected at its opposite end to the upper end of a rod 60 the lower end of which is connected to a treadle (not shown).

The machine is provided with an edge gage 62 (Fig. l) movable to various positions by means of a handle 63 (Fig. 2) to locate an insole on the table 24 in the correct position with relation to the strip applying means to insure the application of the strip at the desired distance from the edge of the insole. The edge gage and its shifting mechanism aresimilar to those disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,326,119, granted August 10, 1943 upon an application of Frederic E. Bertrand, to which reference may be had for a more detailed description.

The strip S, which may be precoated with a pressuresensitive cement, is pressed against the margin of the insole I, which may likewise be coated with a similar cement, to cause the strip to be permanently attached thereto, by a presser foot 64 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) provided in its lower end portion with a notch 66 adapted to accommodate the rib portion R of the strip (Fig. 5) as the strip is advanced through the guide 20. At opposite sides of the notch the presser foot 64 is formed with toothed portions adapted to grip the flanges of the strip, the portion located at the right of the notch being adapted to act on the outer. flange F of the strip, while the somewhat wider portion located at the left of the notch is adapted to act upon the wider inner flange F of the strip.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, the upper end of the presser foot 64 is secured to the lower end of a lever 68, which is pivoted at 70 to a slide 72 mounted for horizontal movement in a groove formed in an arm 74, the slide being retained therein by a plate 76 secured to the arm by screws 78. The arm 74 is fixed to a sleeve 80 extending through the side of the head 12 which houses the driving mechanism of the machine. The sleeve 80 is mounted on a shaft 82 and has an arm 84 fixed thereto by a split clamp 86. The arm 84 is connected to the main shaft 88 (Fig. 9) of the machine by linkage not herein shown but more fully described in Patent No. 2,573,683 previously referred to, whereby the arm is oscillated to impart to the lever 68 and hence to the presser foot 64 up-and-down movements to press the strip against the insole. Horizontal movements are imparted to the presser foot 64 to feed the insole and the strip by means comprising a downwardly extending arm 90 fixed by a split clamp 92 to the shaft 82 and connected at its lower end by a pin 93 to one end of a link 94 the other end of which is guided between vertical surfaces formed in a block 96 secured by screws to a bracket 97 mounted on the machine head. A bracket 98 on the link 94 embraces the lever 68, and a pin 100 pivots the lever to the bracket and to the link 94.

The arm 74 has a slot 102 (Figs. 2 and 4) which receives a pin 104 extending through the slide 72 from the lower arm of a two-arm lever 106 pivoted mid-way its length on a shaft 108 supported in a bearing member 110 formed integrally with a bracket 112 (Fig. 2) secured by screws 114 to the machine head, the shaft being held against rotation by a set screw 116. The upper arm of the lever 106 is provided with a slot 118 (Figs. 2 and 4) through which extends a stud 120 supporting a cam roll 122, the stud being held against rotation by a nut 124. The bracket 112 supports a shaft 126 on which is pivoted about mid-way its length a lever 128 having at one end a cam poition 130 arranged for engagement with the roll 122 to actuate the lever 106. The other end of the lever 128 is connected by a two-part rod 132 to a treadle 134 (Fig. 9) fulcrumed on a shaft 136 mounted in the base of the machine. To the same treadle is also connected a rod 138 which, through connections fully described in Bertrand Patent No. 2,573,683 previously referred to, aotuates a rod 140 pivotally connected to a downwardly extending arm 142 of a yoke 144 mounted on a shaft 146 to connect the driven member 148 of a slip clutch to the driving member 150 keyed to the main shaft 88 of the machine.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, in the normal position of rest of the machine the presser and feed foot 64 is located at the rear or left of the strip guide 20. When the treadle 134 is depressed to start a strip attaching operation, the downward movement of the rod 132 which is connected to the treadle and to the lever 128 causes this lever to turn about the shaft 126 clockwise, as seen in Fig. 4, and by engagement of its cam portion 130 with the cam roll 122, to cause the two-arm lever 106 to turn in the same direction about the shaft 108, against the tension of a spring 152 attached at one end to a pin 154 mounted in the upper end of the two-arm lever 6 and at its opposite end to a pin 156 (Fig. 2) projecting from the machine head. Clockwise movement of the lever 106 causes the slide 72 to be moved inward or to the left of Fig. 4, until a shoulder 158 on the slide engages a stop face of the arm 74. Inward movement of the slide 72 causes the presser foot carrying lever 68 to be moved counterclockwise (as seen in Fig. 4) about its pivot 100, thereby moving the presser and feed foot 64 to the right of Fig. 4, that is, to its initial operating position adjacent to the strip guide 20. Thereafter, and as long as the treadle 134 is held depressed, the lever 68 oscillates about the pivots 70 and 1.00 to impart to the presser and feed foot 64 vertical and horizontal movements in an orbital path to press the strip S to the insole I and to feed the Work. By varying the pressure on the treadle thereby varying the degree of engagement between the clutch members 148, 150, the operator may control the rate of feed of the work, thus enabling him to operate at high speed along certain portions of the insole and at lower speeds as may be desired, for example, when operating around the toe portion of the insole.

In its downward movement the presser and feed foot 64 engages the strip at a point located to the right of the center line of the roll 38, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 4 and diagrammatically in Fig. 7. Thereafter the foot 64 moves horizontally in engagement with the portion of the strip which it has just pressed against the insole to advance the work over the top of the roll 38, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 8, the roll cooperating with the foot 64 in feeding the work. The pressure exerted by the foot 64 on the work causes the table 24 to yield downwardly, compressing the spring 46. When, after its feeding movement, the foot 64 is moved upwardly and rearwardly, the table 24 is moved upwardly and the insole with the attached strip is brought into yielding engagement with a holddown 160 (Figs. 2 and 4) secured to a bracket 162 bolted to the machine head rearward of the presser and feed foot 64. The holddown 160 is located over the sloping solid portion 44 of the table 24, and hence the insole is pressed by the holddown against this sloping portion and bent in a downward direction out of its normal plane, thereby insuring uniform application of the strip at every point without undue stress and possible strapping or distortion of the insole. The bracket 162 may be raised or lowered to adjust the holddown 160 heightwise with relation to the table 24 by means of an adjusting screw 164 (Figs. 2 and 4) having a nut 166 threaded on its upper end for maintaining the bracket in its adjusted position.

It is sometimes desirable to give the insole a more pronounced curvature in order to enable it to conform to the curvature of the bottom of a last for shoes of a particular style. For this purpose there is provided an auxiliary holddown 168 (Figs. 3 and 4) which is adapted, by its engagement with the top of the rib portion of the strip S, to guide the insole over the more sharply sloping portion 45 of the table 24. The forked upper end 170 of the holddown 168 embraces a stud 172 threaded through the bracket 162 which supports the holddown 160. The holddown 168 may thus be adjusted in either its lower, or operative position, where it will engage the rib portion of the strip S to guide the insole over the sloping portion 45 of the table, or in a raised inoperative position, if it is desired to impart only a slight curvature to the insole. A nut 174 mounted on the stud 172 locks the holddown 168 in the adjusted position.

For severing the strip at the end of an attaching operation there is provided a knife 178 (Figs. 1 and 2) arranged to be moved transversely of the insole between the strip guide 20 and the presser and feed foot 64. The knife is adjustably secured to a carrier 180 (Fig. 1) connected by a rod 182, a bell crank lever 184, and a rod 186 to the plunger 188 of a solenoid 190 mounted in the base 10 of the machine. The solenoid 190 is energized by a microswitch 192 which is operated by a knee lever comprising a horizontal rod 194 (Fig. 2) mounted at one end for swinging movement about a vertical axis on a shaft 196, carried by a bracket 198 fixed to the base of the machine. The other end of the rod 194 is connected to the upper end of a downwardly extending rod 200 to the lower end of which is secured a knee pad 202. The horizontal rod 194 has keyed thereto a block 204 arranged, when the operator presses against the knee pad 202, to engage a plunger 206 (see Fig. l) and operate the microswitch 192. A torsion spring 208 coiled around the shaft 196 and connected to the rod 194 returns the microswitch operating lever to its normal position. stroke, the knife 178 is retracted to its initial position by a spring 210 (Fig. 1) connected at one end to the plunger 188 of the solenoid 190 and at its opposite end to a pin 212 mounted in a casting 214 in the base of the machine.

Since the knife 178 operates between the strip guide 20 and the presser and feed foot 64, it is important to insure that the knife will not be operated while the presser and feed foot is operating to attach a strip to an insole. For this purpose the two parts of the treadle rod 132, (Fig. 2) are connected together by a block 216, in which the lower part of the rod is mounted for limited vertical movement relatively to the upper part of the rod. A tension spring 218 is attached at its upper end to a screw 220 threaded into a collar 222 mounted on the upper part of the rod 132. The lower end of the spring 218 is attached to a screw 224 threaded into a collar 226 on the lower part of the rod 132. The arrangement is such that when the treadle 134 (Fig. 9) is depressed, the lower part of the treadle rod 132 (Fig. 2) is moved downward relatively to the upper part of the rod against the tension of the spring 218, to engage the clutch and cause the presser foot 64 to be moved upwardly prior to commencement of its pressing and feed motions, the force of the spring 152 being sufficient to resist downward movement of the upper part of the treadle rod until this resistance has been overcome by the spring 218 by continued depression of the treadle 134, whereupon the treadle rod is moved downwardly as a unit and the lever 128 is moved clockwise, as seen in Fig. 2, to start operation of the presser and feed foot 64, in the manner previously explained. Downward movement of the treadle rod 132 locates the block 216 in a position in which it prevents engagement of the block 204 on the After executing its operative.

rod 194 of the knee lever which operates the microswitch 192 to actuate the knife 178, so that the knife cannot be operated, by inadvertent actuation of the knee lever, while the clutch is engaged to operate the presser and feed foot 64. When, at the end of a strip attaching operation, the treadle is released to disengage the clutch, the spring 218 moves the lower part of the treadle rod 132 upward until the collar 226 on that part of the rod engages the block 216 and moves the upper part of the treadle rod, together with the block 216, upwardly, causing the lever 128 to swing counterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 2, and return the presser and feed foot 64 to its inoperative position. The block 216 having been moved into a position in which it is out of the path of the rod 194, the knee lever may now be operated to cause the block 204 on this rod to engage the microswitch plunger 206 and energize the solenoid 190 (Fig. 1) to operate the knife 178.

Advantageously, an electric heating unit 228 (Figs. 2 and 4) may be mounted in the strip guide bracket 22 to maintain the strip guide 20 in heated condition so as to activate the cement on the strip flanges F, F as the strip is passed through the guide.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A machine for attaching ribbed strips to insoles to provide sewing ribs thereon having, in combination with means for guiding a length of strip from a source of supply toward an insole and a presser and feed mem her for progressively feeding the strip into engagement with the insole, pressing it against the margin of the insole and feeding the insole and attached strip, a table for supporting the insole, a freely rotatable roll mounted in said table and cooperating with said presser and feed member to feed the work, an insole supporting surface on said table etxending beyond said roll and sloping downwardly in the direction of work feed, and a holddown located above said sloping surface and acting to bend the insole during its advance downwardly out of its normal plane, thereby to prevent the insole from curv- I ing upwardly and insure uniform attachment of the strip at every point along the periphery of the insole.

'2. A machine for attaching ribbed strips to insoles to provide sewing ribs thereon having, in combination with means for guiding a length of strip from a source of supply toward an insole and a presser and feed member for progressively feeding the strip into engagement with the insole, pressing it against the margin of the insole, and feeding the insole and attached strip, a table for supporting the insole, a freely rotatable roll mounted in said table and cooperating with said presser and feed member to feed the work, an insole supporting surface on said table extending beyond said roll and sloping at a progressively increasing angle downwardly in the direction of work feed, a first holddown located above a portion of slight curvature of said sloping surface and acting to bend the insole over said portion during its advance downwardly out of its normal plane, and a second holddown located above the sloping portion of greater curvature of said surface and acting by engagement with the rib portion of the strip as the attaching operation progresses to guide the insole over said sloping portion so as to impart to the insole a more pronounced downward curvature out of its normal plane.

3. A machine according to claim 2, in which the second holddown is adjustably mounted so that it may be moved into inoperative position if it is desired to impart only a slight downward curvature to the insole.

4. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a table for supporting an insole, a guide through which a strip to be attached to said insole is passed, a presser and feed member for progressively moving said strip into engagement with the insole, pressing it thereagainst and feeding the insole and strip attached thereto, means for imparting to said presser and feed member movement in an orbital path, and means for moving said presser and feed member from an initial inoperative position remote from the strip guide to an initial operative position adjacent to said guide to cause it to move the leading end of the strip extending from the guide into engagement with the insole prior to commencing its pressing and feeding movements.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a table for supporting an insole, means for guiding a strip toward said insole, a presser and feed foot for pressing successive portions of said strip against said insole and feeding the combined insole and strip, a starting treadle, means connected to said presser and feed foot and operated by said treadle to move said foot from its nor mally inoperative position to an initial operative position to feed the leading end of said strip into engagement with the insole, -a clutch operated by said treadle, and means controlled by said clutch for imparting movements to said presser and feed foot in an orbital path, of a knife for severing the strip at the end of an attaching opeartion, a solenoid for actuating said knife, a micro switch for energizing said solenoid, means for operating said rnicroswitch, and means connected to said starting treadle for preventing operation of said microswitch operating means until the treadle has been fully released and the presser and feed foot returned to its normally inoperative position.

No references cited. 

